To think Christmas Eve boxes are absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary?

[dressinggownwearer]

Just that really. Do children not get enough at Christmas without giving them even more the day before?! What are Christmas Eve boxes even for/full of that can't wait until Christmas Day?! Am I being mean and a grinch or do people agree?

I don't do them as can't afford them. It makes me sad but kids have plenty on Xmas day. We go to sing carols and see friends then come home for a hot choc by the fire. It's enough.

(CHRISTMAS PUDDING) CAKE SMASH!!!!!

Let’s do it. If anything can break mumsnet it’s this.

We do a Xmas box at beginning of December. This includes the Xmas jumper, Xmas jigsaw which we make bit by bit through December, craft activities such as making Xmas cards so Xmas stamps and stencils, sticky coloured paper for making paper chains, fir cones for spraying gold to hang on Xmas tree a packet of Holden chocolate coins, sachets of hot chocolate and small tub of marshmallows. We do craft things after school and go on Xmas type trips at weekennds. We always go to paint a pot where they have Xmas baubles, trees etc to paint. We get them back about 10 days later after they are fired in kiln. Xmas Eve we watch a Xmas movie on TV with wine/hot choc and relax ahead of Xmas day.

@coronafiona

I don't do them as can't afford them. It makes me sad but kids have plenty on Xmas day. We go to sing carols and see friends then come home for a hot choc by the fire. It's enough.

Singing carols sounds amazing I’d love to do that. Your Christmas Eve sounds lovely.

YANBU

Same with elf on a shelf. DCs dads house did EOAS and all it did was confuse and scare him, that little elves were running around being mischievous whilst he was asleep.

The Xmas boxes I dont get. Xmas eve is absolutely magical, without the extra tat. As a kid I hung out with my parents/family, ate food, watched TV, and then went to bed and watched for santa and it felt so magical. I didnt need stuff to feel the excitement of Xmas. Its just more unnecessary landfil fillers, imo.

Having said all this, im a huge fan of "simpler times" all around, anyway. We consume far too much without adding to it with needless traditions. Xmas eve is magical in its own right.

@ShebaShimmyShake

this is a popular topic! I didn't expect this many replies!!

Are you new here?

I haven't been around for a Christmas before!!

We just put in things for Christmas eve not presents as such. No toys or games or anything.
New pyjamas...slippers...book...fave chocolate. That's it!

When I read what some people put in them, I wonder what goes in the stocking, as to me it is all that stuff: chocolate coins, hot chocolate, socks, bath bomb etc

Personally I find the idea of stockings a bit naff and prefer to do a box 🤷🏼‍♀️ Are people really so narrow minded they can’t imagine other families wanting to have Christmas traditions of their own?

"As long as it's the same pool of gifts it doesn't matter but more conspicuous consumption and waste I have an issue with. We never had such things when mine were small but we did always do new pyjamas and they got to unwrap on Christmas Eve. They still get them as adults though very different tastes (one has already requested fluffy ones the other prefers a silky nightdress!)"

@movingonup20 🤦🏽‍♀️ you've just described a Christmas Eve box. But yours is more wasteful as you are buying fully grown adults new pyjamas every single year when they don't need them!

I forgot to say 2 things earlier.

The box we use every year is a cardboard gift box which I was given filled with various bits when DD was very small. It is somewhat Christmas patterned, and most of the year it holds our festive collection of DVDs and Mr Men sized books. They come out in early December, and it gets repurposed on Christmas Eve to hold "CEH" contents.

The second point is that DD has always known it was me who did the hamper. It was never a special Elf delivery. And it has never featured in social media or photos, ever. I have talked about it on here, but it is something that we do in our house when it is just us 3. And it is for the entire house, not just DD.

It is something that suits us, to signal the move towards bed for DD (ASD/ADHD so sleep has always been an issue and routine is terribly important).

But it is also involving things we would have in winter anyway.

It is not essential.

Do not do anything in real life that is not within your budget or something that suits you and your family circumstances.

Christmas is what you make it. Lots of our Christmas is playing music on the radio and enjoying the slower pace of life for a few days. Not consumerism.

There are lots of things that can make things "magic", some cost a lot, some are very cheap or free.

But also don't get so caught up in the need for "magic" that you get totally stressed and the DCs remember that instead - just aim for an enjoyable time, with some fun, and everyone able to enjoy it (including the "magic-maker").

VirginiaWolverine

Mine don’t get enough money either, they save up and can only afford the more cost effective items. I will also contribute say £50 in lieu of a big present .

They do have three sets of grandparents though. Sometimes the grandparents buy pressies sometimes they give money if they know they’re saving up for something but max £50. It really depends.

If they go this route then they get very few other pressies, maybe Pjs, clothes or stationary but not much, they certainly don’t get a big pile of pressies and they don’t need them either.

Maybe it’s because my kids are older but in the past they’ve had so much crap that they’ve never played with or used. They simply don’t need it 🤷🏻‍♀️

It’s nice to watch movies, drink hot choc etc on Christmas Eve but we usually have hot choc powder anyway so they don’t need it dressed up as an extra pressie.

Saying that, we’re usually with family and it’s a Christmas Eve tradition that I take them out for the day to the beach (to give everyone space!). So I suppose we don’t have time for all that. This year will probably be different so I can understand why those who are staying at home try to make it special but I’d never dress it up as a gift.

When my kids were young, we celebrated Christmas Eve by reading "Twas the Night before Christmas", and drinking hot chocolate by candle light (and fairy lights). I needed to calm the children down, not make them more excited with presents!!

I used to agree, however with the year we’ve had and DD being 3.5 and properly understanding everything this year she’s having one.

It will consist of new pyjamas, possibly a book and a key for Father Christmas as we do t have a chimney.

She won’t believe in it all forever so I’m making the most of it

@myhobbyisouting

"As long as it's the same pool of gifts it doesn't matter but more conspicuous consumption and waste I have an issue with. We never had such things when mine were small but we did always do new pyjamas and they got to unwrap on Christmas Eve. They still get them as adults though very different tastes (one has already requested fluffy ones the other prefers a silky nightdress!)"

@movingonup20 🤦🏽‍♀️ you've just described a Christmas Eve box. But yours is more wasteful as you are buying fully grown adults new pyjamas every single year when they don't need them!

I don’t think one new pair of pyjamas per year is in any way excessive.

I think they are daft, as is elf on a shelf- both making a rod for your back at an insanely busy time already.

But if people want to do it, that's fine and up to them. Perhaps other people think I'm daft making everything from scratch for Christmas dinner and not just opening packets from M&S. I had a chat about Christmas dinner and I was saying how I do all the preparation I can and make the sauces, nut roast and stuffing on Christmas Eve and she was like "You make your own sauces?"

So each to their own. What I wouldn't have been happy about would have been my kids asking me to do these things because their friends have them but luckily that never happened.

I quite often get mine a set of new PJs on Xmas Eve - just because their PJs tend to look knackered quite quickly and it means they've got some decent ones on in the Christmas morning present opening photographs.

Yabu to let it bother you that others do this. If you don’t want to do it then don’t!

I started it when DS was small. Hot choc, sweets or chocolate, cheap Xmas dvd, pjs and a craft activity such as make a garland. DSwould open it late afternoon, do the activity and we have a buffet tea while watching the film. A lovely night and for me that that feeling that we are all done and ready when the Xmas eve box comes out.

He is older now (14) but I will still do the pjs, choc, hot choc bit. If I can find a puzzle or mini game for a fiver than maybe that too. Don’t bother with DVDs now as we have various streaming services but will still get pjs on, have a buffet tea and watch a film. It’s our tradition and we like it. Why on earth do you care?

As an aside, DS has no living grandparents and aside from a couple of £10 gifts from an uncle and a friend, only gets gifts from me and his dad. Overall he gets a fraction of what some kids get given the Facebook photos I have seen from Xmas morning.

We don’t do Elf on the shelf btw. I don’t have that level of commitment 😁 We don’t really do stockings either though did when he was small. It was something we did from my mum when she lived with us and was left in her annexe by santa along with a main pressie from her so that he could open them with her when she got up (always a bit later than the rest of us especially on Xmas morning).

We all do Xmas a bit different and that’s ok.

@Chickychoccyegg

Do you know what I can't be bothered with..... I can't be bothered with people who start threads about hating Christmas eve boxes and elf on the shelf. Every single year, people moan and bitch about them, when it would be so much easier to ignore any Christmas traditions that you don’t want to take part in, why do you care what other people choose to do in their own homes with their own families? I Don't know of anyone who spends much on them, as above, a hot chocolate, book/movie, bath bomb, sweets,Christmas craft, things like that, hardly worth getting worked up about is it.

Maybe don't comment and read them if you can't be bothered with them then!!!

I leave Elf on a Shelf to school who tend to use it as a writing hook for the festive season. If they want a naughty elf to giftwrap the class whiteboard and give the kids a giggle - they can put the effort in for that one.

I loved Christmas as a child and we had none of the elf on a shelf / christmas eve box. Obviously you would be excited for the big day beforehand anyway! Christmas music / putting out the mince pies for FC/ anticipation of presents and food/drink were all the most magical parts I remember.

Even advent calendars have ramped up over the last few years to make it all more commercial.

@rottiemum88 YABU to find stockings naff!

I'm looking forward to a more relaxed Christmas this year with my immediate family, can't wait!

Maybe don't comment and read them if you can't be bothered with them then!!!

You said you wanted opinions...

I agree, totally a waste of money. I’m definitely not a grinch when it come to Christmas I love going mad but I see absolutely no point in the boxes, it’s just more marketing to get people to spend more money.

Christmas pjs come out at the beginning of December as I think it’s a waste of money just bringing them out Christmas Eve, if I’m buying new pjs each year I want to get plenty of wear out of them. My DDs get loads in December, advent calendars (chocolate & toy)the elves regularly bring Little Christmas novelty gifts that they can make use of in the run up to Christmas.

Our Christmas Eve tradition is macaroni cheese with lobster (or more realistically , prawns).

Haven’t tried putting it in a box though.

Lots of our Christmas is playing music on the radio and enjoying the slower pace of life for a few days

Yes, normally. But I kind of feel like most of the year has been like that and will be for some time yet.

What I would really love is a massive party and holidays and just to hug everyone. Not yet though.

This is one of those things that literally don’t matter. Every family should just do what they want. Giving one doesn’t mean you child will be spoilt and not giving one doesn’t mean your child will be deprived.

My only issue with them is the inevitable angsty Mumsnet threads about them.

For what it worth I don’t do them and I don’t do elf on a shelf etc.